Sherrod Brown has determined to run for Senate in Ohio in 2026, based on two folks acquainted with his pondering, making a play for his outdated job simply months after he was crushed by Republican Bernie Moreno final November.
The Democrat will face off towards Sen. Jon Husted, whom Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to the Senate after JD Vance left his seat to change into vice chairman.
Brown was a high recruit for Senate Democratic leaders of their uphill battle to reclaim the bulk within the higher chamber in 2026. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and survived two hard-fought reelection campaigns, whilst Ohio’s standing as a Republican state solely crystallized. In 2018, he bested Republican Jim Renacci by a virtually 7-point margin, although President Donald Trump received the state two years prior.
However in 2024, Moreno received by greater than 200,000 votes. Nonetheless, Brown ran practically 8 factors forward of the highest of the ticket, as Trump claimed victory within the state over former Vice President Kamala Harris by greater than 11 factors.
“I don’t see Nov. 5 as a failure,” he instructed POLITICO in an interview days after his election loss. “I see it as sort of a new start of continuing my work focusing on workers.”
Brown is the one main Democrat to run for the seat and can seemingly clear the first discipline.
The Cleveland Plain Vendor first reported Brown’s plans. The 2 folks acquainted with Brown’s pondering spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate his not-yet-public determination.
Democrats must internet 4 seats to reclaim the Senate in 2026, and Brown’s determination might but put Ohio in play. However the math can be tough. Solely two of the 22 Republican seats up for grabs within the midterm elections come from states Trump misplaced or received by lower than 10 factors in 2024.
The winner in 2026 will solely declare the correct to complete Vance’s authentic time period and would wish to run once more in 2028 to win a full six-year Senate stint.
A Brown spokesperson declined to remark.
Husted, who earned Trump’s endorsement in April, has already been getting ready for a tricky reelection battle. He has slightly below $2.7 million in his marketing campaign account as of the top of June.
Brown additionally thought-about operating within the state’s open gubernatorial contest. One-time presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who met with DeWine to debate the Senate appointment that finally went to Husted, is operating for governor. Probably the most distinguished Democrat at present within the race is former state well being director Amy Acton, and former Rep. Tim Ryan can also be contemplating a run.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
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